Symposium “Current Status of Fish Vaccine Development in Japan”

Abstract

A symposium entitled “Current status of fish vaccine development in Japan” was held by the Japanese Society of Fish Pathology in Tokyo on 29th March, 2001. This was aimed to have an overview of the status quo of fish vaccine developments in Japan, especially those for marine fishes. In Japan, a vibrio vaccine to ayu Plecoglossus altivelis was first developed in 1988 and five vaccines have been totally developed until now. In this symposium, ten subjects were included in five categories : (1) Vaccine-use system, utilization and practical problems, (2) Vaccines developed or being developed, (3) Genetic engineering techniques and adjuvants for vaccines (4) General control methods to prevent fish diseases, and (5) Problems confronting the development of fish vaccines in Japan. Vaccines will contribute to make safe products in aquaculture, which can give “peace of mind” to consumers. Vaccines developed in Japan have been effective to protect fish from the target diseases and it was emphasized that fish condition should be kept healthy to get a good result by vaccination.